Recommended Reads Lists

Iranian? Persian? What's That?

 

Allah Created Everything by C. Alta, published by Amica, 1995.

Celebrating Norouz (Persian New Year) by Yassaman Jalali, published by Saman Publishing, 2003.

Forty Fortunes: A Tale of Iran by Aaron Shepard and Alisher Dianov, published by Clarion Books, 1999.

Happy Nowruz: Cooking with Children to Celebrate the Persian New Year, by Najmieh Batmanglij, published by Mage Publishers, 2008.

Iran in Pictures by Stacy Taus-Bolstad, published by Lerner Publishing Group, 2003.

Ramadan by Suhaib Hamid Ghazi and Omar Rayyan, published by Holiday House, 1996.

Ramadan by Susan L. Douglass and Jeni Reeves, published by Carolrhoda Books, 2003.

Rostam, Tales from the Shahnameh (Persian book of Kings) by Bruce Bahmani, Robert Napton, and Karl Altstaetter, published by Hyperwerks, 2005.

The Enchanted Storks: A Tale of Bagdad by Aaron Shepard and Alisher Dianov, published by Clarion Books, 1995.

The King and the Three Thieves: A Persian Tale by Kristin Balouch and Omid Balouch, published by Viking Juvenile, 2000.

The Legend of the Persian Carpet by Tomie dePaola, published by Putnam Juvenile, 1993.

The Persian Cinderella by Shirley Climo and Robert Florczak, published by HarperTrophy, 2001.

Your First 100 Words in Persian by JanThee Wightwick, McGraw-Hill, 2003.

These books represent a range of ages, but they are predominantly picture books for older readers (8 and up). I learned about them by either skimming them or by reading reviews. I decided to do a collection of stories about Iran because I have several students who don't know where Iran is and because I see many of my high school South Asian and Middle Eastern teens who are looking for literary role models. I initially was going to look for books about India, but my local branch of the library did not have very many books about being Indian on the shelf, but I did find a few about life in Iran. I also included a few about being Muslim because that is the religion of Iran. Having had a few Persian students as well, I thought this would be a good collection.

 

Dragons, Dragons Everywhere!

A Practical Guide to Dragons by Lisa Trumbauer, published by Mirrorstone, 2006.

Beowulf graphic novel by Gareth Hinds, published by Candlewick, 2007.

Dragon Rider by Cornelia Funke, published by The Chicken House, 2004.

Dragonology: The Complete Book of Dragons by Ernest Drake and Dugald Steer, published by Candlewick, 2003.

Earthsea Cycle by Ursula K. Le Guin (Includes A Wizard of Earthsea, The Tombs of Atuan, The Farthest Shore, Tehanu, Tales from Earthsea, The Other Wind), published by Spectra

Great Book of Dragon Patterns: The Ultimate Design Sourcebook for Artists and Craftspeople by Lora S. Irish, Fox Chapel Published, 2004.

Hatching Magic by Anne Downer, published by Aladdin, 2004.

Here There Be Dragons by Jane Yolen, published by Harcourt, 1998.

How to Raise and Keep a Dragon by Joe Nigg, published by Barron's Educational Series, 2006.

Inheritance Cycle (Includes Eragon, Eldest, and Brisingr) by Christopher Paolini, published by Laurel Leaf

Jeremy Thacker, Dragon Hatcher by Bruce Coville and Gary A. Lippincott, published by Magic Carpet Books, 2007.

Pete's Dragon starring Helen Reddy and Jim Dale, produced by Walt Video, 2001 (DVD)

The Book of the Dragon by H. Gustavo Ciruelo Cabral, published by Sterling, 2005.

The Dragon of the Lost Sea by Laurence Yep, published by HarperTrophy, 1988.

 

This is a collection of books about dragons, not the evil ones, but wise, mysterious, sometimes good dragons. The recommended reads list is for 4^th-8^th grades and includes a movie, a collection of poetry, faux non-fiction, as well as the standard fantasy novels. Most of the books are geared for younger readers, but a few are for older readers (The Earthsea Cycle and Inheritance Cycle both transition from younger to young adult). I have read a few of these items, speed-read some, and read reviews on all of them.